Alchemist Quest Online
by Twinleaf Publishing
Summary: Now accepting OCs! Brothers Caleb and Dan, alchemy fanatics, are trapped in a VRMMORPG. But, that's just the least of their problems. After attempting human transmutation on a fallen friend, their bodies are torn apart in the process. Now, they must search throughout the tower of Waratong for the one thing that will restore them to normal the Philosopher's Stone.
**A/n:** Sup, guys! Twinleaf2623 here, and welcome to my first non-Pokémon fanfic!

 **Disclaimer:** Fullmetal Alchemist and Sword Art Online are not owned by me. I own any original characters, plot elements, and settings.

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 **Chapter 1: The First Day**

November 6th, 2022. The date Sword Art Online released in Japan. My brother, Dan, and I pre-ordered it on EBay and played it in English. We played it by doing absolutely nothing but living in a house. When it was announced that someone beat the game, I couldn't wait to get back home. And we did.

September 12th, 2025. The date Alchemist Quest Online released worldwide. In less than 24 hours, 1 million copies were sold. Of course, Dan and I bought our individual copies of the game. Each VRMMORPG we played since SAO, we hoped that the mechanic where players could die in sync with their avatar wasn't available.

Boy, were we wrong when we bought this game. But, the game had some great features.

In addition to weapon-based combat, players could use alchemy at will...as long as they followed the laws, of course.

My brother and I were fascinated with the science of alchemy, so much that we did a science fair project on it one year. Sometimes, we would show it off to our friends at the park. Alchemy helped our family out with everything, from Christmas to Mother's Day. It became a part of our lives.

We played the beta version of the game, and it looked pretty amazing. The game was set in Waratong, a huge tower with 92 floors, corresponding to the number of non-radioactive elements in the Periodic Table. The radioactive theme would be released as an expansion pack soon.

Dan and I co-operated to reach the tenth floor, higher than the other beta testers. The beta version lasted all of July, so once it reached midnight on July 31st, 2025, we were kicked right out.

"So, Dan, you ready?" We had our NerveGear helmets strapped on our heads.

"Yep." Dan was ready, I was ready, all was set.

We looked at each other one more time before the game. At 4:00 p.m., we counted down

"Three, two, one..." I counted quietly with Dan. We were so eager to begin.

"Link Start!" We shouted together. All was white and polygons.

* * *

I opened my eyes, and there we were. One million gamers were all together in this amazing world. We were back!

We were back in Waratong!

"Caleb!" Dan called to me. "We made it! We both made it!"

"Come on, Dan! Let's go explore Waratong again. It's sure good to be back!" I ran towards the Field of the Winds. The good thing in AQO is that if you played the beta, your player stats from there are carried to the retail version. This said, we could use our alchemy here and use our items we got from the beta!

We spent the next two hours exploring this amazing virtual world, finding the creatures we've come to know and love that July. We saw Werewoods, Plumbos, and our favorite monsters in the game, Slowslimes, the weakest spawners in AQO.

We saw a player, however, who had a little trouble with the Slowslimes.

"Gah! Rotten scums, stay back! I-I've got a knife and I know how to...uh...cut...with it...I guess."

If his speech was supposed to repel the Slowslime, it didn't. The monster fired a Goo Blast at the unlucky player, taking five damage.

"Should we help this guy, brother?"

"Of course, man. The guy totally sucks at coming up at threats, we can't just leave him hanging. I mean, look at him!"

The player started running from the Slowslime like a deranged maniac or something, and it takes a full 16 minutes for a Slowslime to reach three inches.

"Poor dude. Let's fight the monster so we can get XP."

I clamped my hands together and lashed them to the ground. As they rose up, a grass rod formed from the ground. I grabbed the rod and charged towards the Slowslime. The rod crushed the Slowslime while it's HP fell down to zero. The slime then exploded into strips like extending measuring tape that won't go back.

"You alright, man?" I asked the player.

"Yeah, thanks." he said.

"Slowslimes don't have a skull, so always squish the head."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Wait, you guys used alchemy, didn't you?"

"Yeah, we sure did!" Dan said.

"Then, you guys must be beta testers! Players can't use alchemy until level five, but nobody can reach that level in just two hours!"

"Yeah, Dan and I are both at level 11. My name's Caleb."

"Hi, uh, my name's Zach, level 2, right now."

"Hey, if you ever need anything just contact us. Here, open up the menu and go to "Contacts", and type in my name and Dan's name." Zach did just that, and I typed and selected his own name.

"Thanks, man, maybe we'll bump into each other in the future."

"Sure!" I waved goodbye as Zach left to the floor's main town, Sleepy City. "Alright, Dan, let's log off and get dinner. School's tomorrow."

"Okay, brother." Dan opened his menu and I opened mine.

But soon, I noticed something at the menu.

"Huh?! What's this?" Dan said.

"I was just about to say that."

The logout button was gone.

"No. No! NO! Not again!"

"I know. I can't believe this. I thought they weren't alllowed to do that anymore!"

"It's a bug, it has to be a bug. We are not going through Hell again!"

Just then, a bright light whisked us away to the Town Square, where hundreds of other players were standing in confusion as we were.

"Dan! Caleb!"

"Zach!" I shouted, waving my hands up as if to say "Over here!"

Zach ran up and panted. "What's going on? Why are we here?"

"Trust me, you're better off waiting for the GM to answer that for you than asking us."

"Why?"

"We can't tell you."

Soon, the sky flickered and turned black. Pixels started to build a holographic human head. All was quiet.

The head spoke in a deep voice, bringing back the horrifying memories of SAO with each word spoken.

"Greetings, I am Nagata Sanshiri, designer and game master of AQO. You are probably wondering to yourselves why you are unable to log out of the game. This is not a bug at all, for I challenge you to beat this game."

We could hear a guy from the back shouting out "You're a dick!"

"If you clear all 92 floors of Waratong, you all will be able to log out. But, should your avatar die in the game, you shall perish in reality."

Murmurs started, some afraid, some angry. Zach raised an eyebrow, "Is that guy nuts or what?"

"Nope. See, the NerveGear can send microwave impulses to your brain, causing it to fry up and shut down completely. That's how SAO's death system worked."

"Sword Art Online? The so-called "Game of Death"?!"

"That's the one."

"Oh, my god, they weren't kidding then."

The holographic head of Nagata Sanshiri inhaled, and everyone was dead silent.

"I hope to see you on the 92nd floor, players, and good luck."

The head then pixelated into dust. Everything was quiet for a moment until...

"LET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!"

All the players rushed for the exit. Dan and I were separated by the crowd.

"Dan!"

"Caleb!"

I was pushed out of the nearest door, where the field was. So was Dan, and so was Zach.

That's when a monster mauled Zach, who was screaming for us.

"Guys! Help!"

Zach's HP started dropping to the red zone, and I roared and started whacking with the rod. But it was too late, the red bar was empty. Zach, who we only knew for a few minutes was dead. All that remained of him was a bottle of his soul.

And there showed a choice, "Revive?" which could happen only once in the game. I selected "yes", but instead of his body, a basket with the physical components for the human body formed in my hands.

"Caleb, are you crazy?! We can't do human transmutation until level 40!"

"Damn it, Daniel! We can't let Sanshiri win this! Zach isn't going to die. We're gonna bring him whether you like it or not, now come on!"

* * *

We stayed at a hotel room for the night, we drew the transmutation circle on the floor. We stirred all the ingredients we needed:

Water: 35 liters

Carbon: 20 kilograms

Ammonia: 4 liters

Lime: 1.5 kilograms

Phosphorous: 800 grams

Salt: 250 grams

Saltpeter: 100 grams

Sulfur: 80 grams

Fluorine: 7.5 grams

Iron: 5 grams

Silicon: 3 grams

And trace amounts of fifteen other elements.

We were ready. We weren't going to let anyone die here any time soon.

We slapped his hands down to the ground. The transmutation circle glowed. But, something happened that we thought wouldn't. An eye glared at us, black hands lunged at our arms or legs.

"CALEB!"

I saw Dan's body get ripped apart by these black hands. He screamed for dear life, I watched in helplessness and horror as he started disappearing. A sharp pain rose up as my left leg started to tear apart. I screamed in agony.

"CALEB, HELP ME, PLEASE!"

"DAN! NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

My life then flashed before my eyes. I looked at the room, all white. Nothing but me, two giant black doors, and...a white human figure.

"Hello, Caleb. I see you've broken the laws of alchemy and reality. Let me show you something I think you might enjoy. It is called the Truth."

The giant door behind me opened, black hands grabbed me and pulled into darkness. A series of images started flooding my brain. It was too much. I was screaming in pain.

"GAH! That's enough. Stop it. Stop, I can't take this anymore. Make it stop, please!"

I saw a ghost. It sort of looked like Zach, but I was too busy registering the huge pain. I felt like my body was about to burst.

Then, it was over. For a minute, I looked at myself and found that I felt like I knew something from back there. Something about a stone. A red stone.

"It's missing something. It's a stone. Somewhere in Waratong there's a stone we need to save Zach!"

I turned to the white figure.

"Show me that again. I've got to know where the stone is."

"I'm sorry," the figure replied, "You've already paid the toll."

"What do you mean by toll?" I asked. My answer came as a painful separation of my left leg.

"Isn't that what you've wanted, young alchemist?"

I screamed in pain. I didn't want this. I DIDN'T WANT THIS AT ALL!

* * *

"This is all my fault. I caused this mess. I deserved to be gone, not Dan! Dan, no! Oh, god! Dan! DAN!" I banged on the wall, and a suit of armor fell before me.

"No, you can't have him. He's not leaving me! Give him back! Take anything from me, not him. Take my arm, take my heart, take my goddamn soul for all I care! Just, please, give him back! H-He's my little brother!"

I drew an alchemical rune on the inside of the armor, I already lost one person, and I wasn't planning on losing another one.

I clapped my hands to perform alchemy that would save him.

"HE'S MY ONLY BROTHER, GIVE HIM BACK NOW!"

I cried tears of sorrow, I thought it wasn't going to work.

"Brother..."

I turned around to see that the suit of armor was alive. Dan was alive!

"DAN! Oh, thank God!" I cried, praising God that my little brother was still with me.

"Brother. Oh, god, you're bleeding! You need a potion!"

Dan opened up the menu and summoned a potion. Luckily, it was enough to keep me from bleeding for a while.

"We gotta find an arm and a leg for you."

"I think the blacksmith will remember us. Right?"

"I hope so. Let's go tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll try to endure the night."

Soon, we heard a knock on the door.

"Dan, don't open it, people can't see us like this. Don't open the door!"

Dan opened the door. A female player stared at us.

"This is not what it looks like, trust me." Dan waved his hands.

The female player screamed in horror and slammed the door.

"...She likes me." Dan said, happily.

"Yeah, nice going, Dan, now we've really done it."

Another knock on the door, Dan opened the door and saw another female player.

"Hey, are you guys okay? I heard somebody scream and I believe it was Short Steve over there." she said, obviously referring to me.

I was irrationally furious.

"Okay, first of all, it's Caleb, not Steve! Second, just because my brother is now a suit of armor that doesn't give you the right TO CALL ME SHORT!"

"...Look, do you want me to help you or not?!" She asked.

"Huh?!" We were confused yet very lucky to meet a random girl that can save the day.

"I'm Whitney. I'm a prosthetics engineer. I'll get you an arm and a leg by tomorrow, so make a note of that before you go to sleep."

"Sure."

She left and Dan closed the door.

"Night, Caleb."

"Night, Dan. You sleep on the floor."

"You're so mean, brother."

"GOOD NIGHT, DAN!"

And that's how it started. That was our very first day in Waratong.

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 **A/n:** Hope you liked this chapter. If you like this fanfic so far, click "fav" and "follow", and leave a review to tell me how I can make this story better. Also, submit your original characters to me in the review, and yours might appear in later chapters.

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I'll be back soon with more Alchemist Quest Online, so until then...

 **Slow and Steady writes the story.**

As always, read and review.


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